Five people are vying to be the new mayor of the city of St. Petersburg.

The deadline just passed on qualifying to run for mayor. Voters should recognize nearly every name on the roster, as most have held an elected office before.

The Pier is shaping up to be this election's hot button topic, and the candidates all have opinions about it.

Anthony Cates is a political newcomer. He is running for mayor for the first time. He said he's against the Lens and he believes the inverted pyramid was closed prematurely. Cates said he wants the Lens architect to withdraw his contract so the mayor's race can be decided on real issues like education, crime and homelessness.

The incumbent candidate is Mayor Bill Foster, who was elected in 2009. Foster supports the Lens, but he said he always believed residents should get to vote on the city's new pier.

Kathleen Ford is running for mayor for the third time. She lost to Foster in her last bid. Ford is against the Lens and supported a failed lawsuit to save the inverted pyramid. That lawsuit is being appealed.  Ford says voters should decide the Pier's fate.

Rick Kriseman is a former City Council member and state lawmaker. This is his first time running for St. Petersburg mayor. Kriseman is encouraging residents to vote "yes" to stop the Lens, but he also says the inverted pyramid is too costly to be saved. Kriseman said he'll form a task force to come up with a new design for the Pier.

Homeless activist Paul Congemi is running for mayor again. Congemi said he is for saving the inverted pyramid and that voters should decide, but Congemi said there are much more serious issues facing the city, like immorality.

Recent history for St. Petersburg mayoral elections tends to favor the incumbent, but polls show support for Foster has been going down for the past few months.

Still, experts say Foster is going to be the candidate to beat.

The five candidates will face off in the Aug. 27 primary. The top two candidates will then compete in the November general election.

Longtime St. Pete City Council member Leslie Curran, who many thought would throw her hat in the ring, announced last weekend she would not be running.